Blood, Sweat, and Tears
by SEAL-TEAM6
Summary: Multi-chapter story following several characters at different points. Mostly in disconnected one-shot forms. Just some ideas I've had in my head. Follows the main characters at different points in time during different struggles and how they got through them. Some fluff, maybe hardcore romance. Who knows. Ideas (and any pointers) welcome! First few chapters a 3 or 4 part fic on Rex
1. Chapter 1

_So, this is my first attempt at a story for like 8 years. I used to do this more as an anxty 13 year old but lately I've found myself re-reading some great fics, mostly on the clone wars. This idea popped into my last night and out of boredom I've decided to act on it. This will be a compilation of oneshots some connected some not. Mostly based on the man characters such as Rex, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan and Anakin. Mostly centered around emotional problems of said characters, but may change it up a bit and add some fluff here and there. Maybe some chapters based solely around song lyrics. Who knows. Anyway, without further adieu; Blood, Sweat, and Tears._

* * *

Chapter 1: Rex, Pt 1.

...

The atmosphere was dreary, to say the least. The pre-battle banter of the men of the 501st, who would normally be exchanging jokes and sarcastic insults as they readied shuttles for takeoff, was nonexistent. In fact, it seemed as though the men were taking great pains to not break the forlorn silence that engulfed the hangar of the _Resolute_.

And Rex knew why. The reason for this stifling lack of noise was the man just off to his right ; the brown haired, blue eyed Jedi General. Anakin Skywalker. From the Clone's spot on a random supply crate he had chosen as his seat, he could see the Jedi stand in silence, arms crossed over his chest and brow creased as if deep in thought. His eyes danced between every man, not lingering on a single trooper too long. They tended to turn away if he stared at them too long, seemingly trying to implode on themselves. Again, Rex new why this was.

Seven standard days, five hours, six minutes, and seven seconds, since the execution of former Jedi General Krell... now eight seconds. Nine. Ten. Rex turned his eyes away from his in helmet Chrono, not allowing himself to dwell on the time. For whatever reason the exact time of the fallen Jedi's execution, right down to the second, was marked as a memo on his HUD. Every time he looked at that stupid time stamp the scenes of that fateful mission played over in his head. His head hung low now...

... _"Stop firing! They're not Umbarans! They're clones!"_

 _"Look, they're clones! We're ALL clones!"_

The cardinal sin of war. Mass casualties, all because of friendly fire. Rex remembered the faces of almost every man he shot that day... Including Waxer. They had shot, injured, and killed each other in what could only be called a disastrous turn of events. Not a single man left the battlefield that day without bearing the burden of _knowing_ exactly what they had done. And the worst part of it was that it was _ordered,_ willed to be so.

By a Jedi.

Krell. That slimy, traitorous, damned piece of wretched filth. The Jedi General was a turncoat, and had ORDERED his men to fire on each other, just because he hated them. The worst part about it was that the Jedi were supposed to be their _leaders._ They were supposed to be the fearless, lightsaber wielding warriors that charged forward into battle, leading their men with courage and honor.

That idolization was broken, shattered into a million pieces after the revelation of Krell's actions. The trust that filled so many hearts, that would compel them to charge straight into hell itself all for the sake of their General- was broken.

Now the Jedi were proven to be just as susceptible to temptation and evil as any other. And it _hurt. Kriff_ it hurt. To think that a Jedi could fall that far... That perhaps even General Skywalker could fall like that. If that happened he _knew_ they wouldn't succeed in defeating him as they had Krell. Skywalker was just too powerful for that. The thought sent a shiver down Rex's spine.

He could practically see the blue blade swinging to and fro, lopping off heads and limbs in a torrent of rage and _death._ In fact, he HAD seen it. He had seen two blue blades, accompanied by two green, swinging wildly in a mad dance of death.

The thought of it being Skywalker's blade was just that much more repulsive a thought... What could he have done then? Could he have made the same choices he had? Could he have _killed_ his General- no, dare say he, his friend?

He hadn't realized it, but he was entrapped in his own thoughts now. His breath came in short, ragged gasps. His helmet, now seemingly too tight and claustrophobic, was swiftly pulled from his head and dropped on the floor. His face fell to his palms and his fingers scratched at his scalp in a futile effort to gain control over his terrified thoughts, and rampant imagination...

* * *

 _Sometimes one by one, more often in groups of twos or even threes. That blue blade cut through them all. Not a single blaster bolt managed to find its mark. More often then not redirected at another clone. Several more dropped dead. Men shouted in pain and anger as they continued to fight in vain. Soon enough Rex could see he blue streak of death was coming for him now..._

 _"Rex..."_

 _Skywalker's voice. Coming for him. To KILL him._

 _The blue blade was getting closer, now followed by two others. Green, and yellow, he wondered who else was there. The three beacons of death and gore continued to slice through his men and he continued to pull the trigger, trying to end it. He could see them now. Skywalker and..._

 _Commander Tano? His eyes widened in disbelief... No... NO. Not both of them. He had hoped that whatever had changed the General hadn't affected her as well. Not the 501st's little sister. They were closer now. He could make out their faces clearly._

 _Every vein in their body seemed to be a pitch black, like tar. Everywhere they stepped the grounded cracked, and black whisps of what could only be defined as pure, unfiltered evil rose up from those cracks. They turned towards him as the last man dropped._

 _The last man besides_ him.

 _Their eyes were no longer the crystal blue he had known, full of vigor and courage. Now both pairs were a sickly yellow. And they were trained on him. Ahsoka stepped forward._

 _"I'll take him Master"_

 _Rex was in full panic mode now, something he was unfamiliar with. Never before had he experienced such a feeling of terror, a feeling that permeated throughout his entire being. He dropped his two DC-17s, and turned in a last ditched attempt at escape. When he came full around, he came face to face with her._

 _"Rex"_

 _"Stay away from me!" He shouted, trying to run. But he was frozen to the ground. She said his name again, a sick desire for blood dripping from her voice._

 _"Rex" Her lightsaber ignited._

 _"No!"_

 _She swung._

* * *

"REX!"

His eyes snapped open, and he bolted up from his seat on the supply crate. His breathing was uncontrolled, and sweat dotted his brow. He looked around him to gather his bearings. He was only in the hangar. No dead brothers, no Jedi coming to kill- His head snapped forward.

Commander Tano stood in front of him, arms slightly up and hands slightly reaching for him out of concern. Or was it defense? Her face was drawn into a look of concern. General Skywalker was there as well, also observing Rex with a look of confusion. His arms were gone from crossed over his chest and were now down at his sides. His hand hovered next to his lightsaber... _No,_ he thought, _It can't be happening._

"Put down your lightsaber!"

* * *

The Captain's demand startled everyone, including her. He was _not_ in a normal state of mind. His hands hovered dangerously over his blasters. She heard Anakin take a deep breath, then the sound of a metal cylinder being set down lightly on the floor.

"Ok Rex, just calm down, no one is going to hurt you," She heard her master say. He sounded as if he knew what was wrong.

"Rex, what's wrong?" Commander Tano pulled his attention towards her. He gave no reply. She cautiously advanced, his posture was that of a man backed into a corner. In a way he was, when he stood up he put his back to the wall, and was now being advanced on by herself. Two clones had also stopped to see what was wrong, forming an effective semi-circle around the panicked captain. She took another tentative step towards him. Whatever was wrong, she intended to snap him out of it. Another step. She was close enough to touch him now

Her voice softened, "Rex, talk to me," She placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him through the force.

Only to have it slapped away.

She didn't have time to be in shock over the display before she felt a forearm pressed up against her collar bone, just under her neck. Next thing she new she was shoved backwards. Not hard enough to fall, but enough to make her stumble back a few steps. He eyes widened in shock and her mouth dropped open. She looked at him and saw only panic and terror in his eyes.

"Rex-"

She was cut off by the lightning fast move of her Master. Before she could blink Rex was pinned against the wall, one arm firmly pinned behind his back and the other held by Anakin's robotic arm. Her master's other arm was placed firmly against Rex's chest.

"That's enough, Rex! You are to report to the med bay immediately, get your self _under control_ , then report back here by time we ship out- AM I UNDERSTOOD?" Anakin's voice was so commanding, so authoritative, and yet so low that it sent a shiver down her spine. There was a pause as Rex glanced between his General and his Commander. A few blinks in confusion, then she saw his eyes widen. She saw the point at which he realized just what he had done.

He relaxed under the General's grip, and then came a barely audible "Yessir." Anakin held him there for another moment, before releasing him and stepping back. Rex stood there for a second, head bowed and hands clenched tightly into fists. He dared not look up, dared not make eye contact with anyone. But she saw it anyway. In the way he stood there momentarily, in the way he took a few shuddering breaths, and in the way her turned to swiftly away and marched towards the corridor that would lead to the med-bay.

She saw his crippling guilt over what he had just done. And she new he wouldn't forgive himself.

But there was more than that. In the Captain's eyes- in the Force -she felt pain, anger, sadness. Fear. Fear of her, and fear of Anakin... No not fear, that was to weak of a word. Rex was terrified. Terrified of the two people he never should have been. She looked at Anakin, and she knew that he could feel it too. Anakin looked at her.

"You ok, Snips?"

She nodded, "I'm fine.."

'Is Rex?'

* * *

 _So? How'd I do? Compliments? Insults? Constructive tips? Be sure to review if you liked it! I know this was probably a bit ooc for Rex but I always thought there was more depth to him than just a good soldier. Even more depth than episodes like the Umbara arc gave us. Anyway, first chapter done. This will probably die if I don't feel that people aren't reading so please REVIEW if you want it to continue! Adieu._


	2. Chapter 2

_Second chapter. Hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 1: Rex, Pt 2.

...

Of all the people to have a mental break down, Anakin couldn't afford for it to be Rex. The Jedi was aware of the stress the 501st had just been put through, and he was keenly aware that the Council hadn't exactly allowed much time for his to grieve over their losses. He felt Rex's panicked state through the force before the 'incident' had even happened. The troopers turmoil was clearly visible to a Jedi. Yes Anakin fully understood what was going on, but the fact remained that they were five minutes away from air dropping into perhaps one of the top five... or ten... most dangerous battle's of the war.

Anakin _really_ needed Rex to be in the right state of mind for this mission.

It was clear that he wasn't. The Captain, after disappearing in the direction of the Med-Bay, had _hopefully_ received some well needed sleep... Or drugs. Or... Anything to help get him focused for the mission. Now, his bucket seated firmly on his head and visor pointed slightly down- below eye level -the Captain silent stepped aboard the last drop ship. He took his place in the very back, away from Ahsoka and Anakin.

Something in the back of Anakin's mind picked at him. A bad feeling. Anakin shoved it down, taking his own advice and focusing only on the mission. He caught Ahsoka's eye, her concern for the Captain evident. He offered an assuring smile and glanced back at the Captain. His visor was still pointed down, seemingly trying to melt away the floor of the shuttle... He looked distracted.

A bad feeling indeed.

* * *

He rubbed the dust off of his visor with his forearm, before leveling his pistols once more and sending a volley of blue lasers into the oncoming Commando Droids. This mission was already a failure, that much was evident. Before launching, they hadn't the intel the Seppies had just received reinforcements; An entire battalion made almost exclusively of Commando Droids and a full squad of MagnaGuards. Odd, considering they were almost exclusively used as Dooku's body guards. And they were sure that Dooku wasn't on world.

First, their shuttles had been all but destroyed, picked out of the sky one by one by a severely underestimated element of anti-air artillery. Next the Commando Droids swept in, ripping the doors off of the crashed shuttles and firing into the helpless and dazed men. This was quickly put to an end, as the General and the Commander leapt out of their craft and made quick work of the first wave of droids, effectively saving many men.

That's right, _saving._ Rex shook his head and give himself a knock or two with the palm of his hand. This was a _kriffing_ battlefield. There was no time for a personal dilemma. He looked over to his right, Commander Tano stood atop a mound of dirt and rock, heroically blocking bolt after bolt in an attempt to save a group of wounded huddled behind the meager shelter. He noticed the way her face made a snarl every time a blast from a droid came too close to killing one of the defenseless. Her eyes were set in determination to save these men.

He also noticed the blood trickling down her forehead from a gash in her right montral. Then he noticed how every few seconds she would vigorously attempt to wipe said blood from her eyes, to no avail. She needed help. He turned his gaze to the section of battle she was facing and noticed several of those staff-wielding trash cans beginning to make her way towards her. In the opposite direction, and too far to be of any assistance was General Skywalker, busy protecting his own group of wounded troopers and looking equally pissed off.

 _"Rex..."_ The voice. That haunting, blood thirsty voice.

 _Her_ voice.

He ceased firing, momentarily frozen, his blaster still trained on a still functioning Commando Droid. He only stopped for a mere moment.

One moment was enough. The droid that his eyes were trained on, the one _he_ should have turned into a pile of scrap fired a single shot. The shot found it's mark, burning directly into Ahsoka's left shoulder. Her shoto went sailing through the air, landing at Rex's feet. The MagnaGuard took this opening and used it to full effect. It landed a direct blow with its knee to her stomach, and down she went. Gasping for breath she hit the ground on all fours, dry heaving from the force of the blow. Blood and dirt and sweat stained her vision. She couldn't see, couldn't breath, and couldn't rise to her own defense.

Because of him. Because his irrational fear took hold of him and made him weak and-

Rex leapt from his cover, rolling as he landed and full sprinted towards Ahsoka's location; firing as he went.

All at once he remembered the pained look in her eyes when he roughly slapped her hand and shoved her away. Her; The fearless commander who was only trying to _help_ him. What was worse was that Rex knew that if he _hadn't_ caught her eye, he probably would have thrown a punch. Or worse.

He was _willing_ to do that all because of some damn hallucination, and she knew it just as much as he did. The sight of her blue eyes full of concern for _him_ had been burned into his mind ever since that moment.

He wasn't even strong enough to look her in the eye with the message;

 _I'm sorry._

Before he knew it he had rammed his shoulder at full speed into the side of the MagnaGuard. The machine fell like like a ton of durasteel into the dust. With lightning speed he wasn't aware he had he had fired two shots, one into the head and the other into its abdomen.

Ahsoka was still on the ground, holding her head in pain and still trying to get a grip on her surroundings. She must have taken a harder knock than he originally thought. Three more MagnaGuards approached, all ready to kill. In what could only be called a hasty judgment call, he holstered his pistols.

In a blur of white and blue, Rex moved in a way he never thought possible for a clone.

Explosions all around, the three droids advanced, all swinging with precise accuracy to kill the Clone. Like a bat out of hell Rex dodged to and fro, using expert hand to hand combat to duck, slip, and parry all attacks. One of them tried to stab him. In one swift spinning motion Rex dodged the staff and had ripped it from the droid's hands. Continuing the spin he used the weapon against his assailant and plunged it into his enemy's center mass. Using the now twitching and spasming machine as a cover, he raised one pistol from it's holster and blew the droid's head off. Next he was able to nail the center and head of another as it tried to compute what had just happened.

The remaining attacker wasn't so slow. It came at him swiftly, and Rex new he had no time to react. He was still entangled in the now limp form of a dead MagnaGuard. The electric purple prod of the staff came down in slow motion. He had no way to block it, and no way to avoid. He was going to die.

Then, it stopped. Mere inches away from making contact with his armor and electrocuting him to death. Not wasting a second he fired a volley of shots, not caring for accuracy or conserving ammo. He blew the thing to pieces.

When it finally fell he turned around and saw the outstretched hand of Commander Tano. Through bloody, teary and dusty eyes she looked at him, and he at her. She had saved him. _Saved_ him. All at once a wave of guilt came crashing over him as he was reminded of his actions aboard the _Resolute_. Despite his disregard and physical assault, she still cared enough to save him. And Rex wasn't the only one to realize this.

During his little hand to hand combat fiasco a good portion of the Droids had been wiped out by a danger close bombing run, ordered by Skywalker to provide an opening of escape. A large group of clones, in the few silent seconds after the bombing run had seen the entire ordeal for themselves. They saw their Commander save Rex, just as he had saved her. They were reminded of how she cared enough to even do that.

Then again, this was Commander Tano, baby sister of the 501st. Of _course_ she cared.

Red took two long strides over to her and gave her a hand up. His ears were ringing. She shakily rose to her feet.

"Wow, didn't know you had that in you Rexter," She joked, taking another swipe at the blood trickling into her eyes. He said nothing. Only stared at her through his visor, his arms hung limply by his side.

How could he forget? She was Ahsoka Tano. Jedi, Warrior, Commander. _Friend._ His ears continued to ring, the pitch getting higher in fact. Regardless of all his training, and regardless of his instincts, he just stood there and decided to take a moment to do something better saved for the safety of the ship.

"Commander I'm sorry-" The ringing in his ears became a scream. He and Ahsoka turned towards the sky, and their eyes widened in panic. Two hyena bombers had just passed over head, and their bombs were only seconds away from colliding with the ground.

Before he could even process what was happening, some ethereal force had thrown him yards away from the explosion.

 _BOOM!_

The force of the blast shook the ground, and actually colliding with the ground himself knocked the wind out of his lungs. He lay there for only a moment, dirt and rocks falling from the sky and bouncing off of his armor. He groaned, and forced himself up. What happened?

He looked to where Ahsoka was, vision shaky as he was still shaken from the blast which had hurdled him like a child's doll almost thirty yards away. Wait, thirty yards?

'I should have been incinerated by that,' he thought. His eyes slowly came back into focus as he continued to search out Commander Tano.

Then he saw her.

The distant sound of a pained howl of denial reached his ears as he rose to his feet and sprinted towards her.

'No no no no no no-'

The closer he got the more blood he saw. The more blood he saw the more burnt flesh he could smell. The more burnt flesh he could smell the louder the yelling became.

Then he recognized the voice of the shouting.

It was him.

"I NEED A MEDIC!"

* * *

 _Bam, Rex Pt 2 of 3. Let me know if you liked it by leaving a review and if not, well just don't be a prick. Until next time!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Alright last Rex mini-story chapter. Here it goes._

* * *

Chapter 1: Rex, Pt 3.

...

The two LAAT engines provided a consistent, low growl that thrummed throughout the durasteel of the drop ship. Rex felt it in through his boots, even as the ship lurched every now and then, the muted sound of flak explosions going on around them. So far no droid had managed a lucky hit on their vessel. So far they were alive.

So far.

Five figures occupied the transport. Three were clones. One, Rex, stood with his bucket hanging loosely, numbly, in his hand. The other two clones, the medic known as Coric along with another unnamed medic, had taken to both knees, working tirelessly against the clock. The fourth figured was General Skywalker, who stood in such cold silence Rex thought he thought he felt the cabin temperature drop. In one hand was the General's own blue lightsaber, his gloved digits gripping the cylinder as if trying to snap it in two.

The fifth and final figure was a young woman, who lie mutely under the two clone medic's rapidly moving hands;

Ahsoka.

Her eyes may have been closed as she lay unconscious, yet her mouth parted slightly in desperate, uneven gasps. The occasional cough, and a splurt of blood accompanied her ragged breathing and weak moans of pain that Rex was sure she wasn't even aware of making.

It was evident; she was in pain.

The wound on her head had stopped bleeding so profusely, instead turning from a gushing spring of read liquid into a much slower yet constant drip, a steady stream of the stuff cascading down her forehead, over her eye, and onto the cabin floor via her cheek bone.

Further down along her battered and severely burned body, she was covered in cuts and bruises, her shoulders, neck, and back showing the typical signs of battle. Some larger cuts on her back had made themselves evident during the escape onto this LAAT, but for now they were ignored as minor. At least minor in comparison to her abdomen.

Tossing aside anything such as dignity or a prudish sense of shame, the medics had since cut the togruta's upper clothing from her body, revealing more than enough skin to cause Rex to avert his eyes. He couldn't believe just how _hurt_ she looked. Aside from the countless burns, cuts, and other such ailments, her right arm was now swollen and slowly turning an ever darker purple, most likely fractured in multiple places. Her forehead had a now surely infected slice running along the base of her montral, still bleeding.

And he also noticed one giant _kriffing_ piece of scrap lodged in, and almost parallel with, her stomach.

The now burnt black piece of metal was effectively set in her gut.

The medic's had long since set up a bacta drip, using the fluid as a temporary substitute for the amount of blood she had already lost, and were now working at figuring out just what to do about the metallic disc. Currently the shrapnel was acting as a block, preventing her from bleeding out entirely. However it didn't prevent her from bleeding _internally._ Equally destructive.

"It doesn't seem to have sunk into her organs, disc must have come in at just the right angle" One said. The other nodded.

"Copy that, a flesh wound." _Flesh wound._ Rex was no medic, but he knew that the term _flesh wound_ meant very little. He knew they didn't have the ability to fully identify the extent of the damage from here, and that the diagnosis of _flesh wound_ was a simple means of saying _'We think it didn't make mincemeat of her intestines'_. It also meant they were going to try and pull it out in an attempt to stitch her up internally.

The gravity of it all was not lost on Rex. Her life hung in the balance, and he blamed himself. Of course he blamed himself, after all it was he who froze- _froze_ , in the middle of a battle. He lost his sense for just a split second, and his target had effectively made a target of Ahsoka. A thousand thoughts rattled through his mind, each leading him further and further down a path of misery and self blame. If he had simply used a few pounds of trigger pull pull, she wouldn't have taken the blaster bolt to the shoulder then she wouldn't have fallen to the MagnaGaurd, and they wouldn't have been in that position for so long, and he wouldn't have been so disoriented from his fight and he would have heard the hyena bomber and-

A gut wrenching, ear splitting shriek ripped through the cabin, as the two medics , as tenderly as they could, tugged upward at the flesh encompassing the scrap metal and slowly pulled the disc from Ahsoka's now spasming body. Skywalker was now on his knees as well, using his hands to gently but firmly hold her shoulders down.

"Hang in there snips..." Rex heard him say. The clone, for all his worth, could do nothing. He stood frozen in place at her weakly kicking feet.

"Almost there," One of the medic's said. She was now a fountain of red, the hot blood pooling around her and trickling its way across the metallic floor all the way to Rex's boots. The taste of bile rose to his throat. Could this really be it? Would this be how she would go? He had always imagined that he would go first, perhaps in some daring last stand in order to save his friends. It would be him, not her. And not like this. Not on the floor of some _blasted_ ship, bleeding out while being held down by her caring Master and simply being stared at by her worthless Captain.

"Come on Commander..."

* * *

He skipped the debriefing. He skipped the mess hall. He skipped his chance at hitting the freshers. Hell, he hadn't even taken the time to slip out of his armor. Because that would mean diverting his attention elsewhere. Somewhere other than the suspended form of Ahsoka, who looked equal parts peaceful, powerful, and _dead_ as she floated in her bacta tank.

He gave a quick shake of his head. _'N_ _o,'_ he thought, ' _She is_ not _dead. Not yet.'_

Upon landing aboard the _Resolute_ she was immediately rushed to the med bay, and attended to by nearly every one of the doctors, medical droids, and nurses staffed aboard the _s_ tar destroyer. After a period of touch and go, and one brief moment of a flat line, she was stabilized. Her major needs attended to, they prepped her for then put her in the bacta tank.

And there she stay from then until now. For six standard hours and twenty-four minutes, republic time.

She wasn't likely to be pulled out for another twelve hours, and even then it was uncertain on how long it would be before she woke up. Rex didn't care. His eyes traced the line of stitching that went from her right hip diagonally towards her left rib cage. He looked at her arm, which was confirmed broken, and noticed how it wasn't so swollen or purple anymore. He looked at the gash on her forehead, neatly sutured and already healing from the bacta. Next he looked at her face, which changed back and forth between a grimace of pain and what would have been a sigh of relief had she not had the oxygen mask around her head.

Once again the crushing weight of guilt crashed down upon Rex's shoulders. It hit him like a blow to the gut, knocking the wind from him and leaving him paralyzed only to think about what he had done-

"She'll pull through, Rex," A voice pulled him back to the present. It was Anakin. The clone berated himself for not even hearing the Jedi's entrance. Rex turned and stood at attention, noticing how Skywalker's face was pulled into an seemingly permanent frown of worry over his on-the-mend-padawan. His face betrayed his words.

Because even Skywalker knew that Jedi weren't immortal, and it was constantly in the back of his mind that one day he would have to bring the body of his Snips back to temple- cold and unmoving. And Rex had the same nagging thought in the back of his mind as well.

Still, the General's words must have had some merit to them; This wasn't the first time Ahsoka had been seriously injured, but that didn't do anything the lessen either of the two men's concern. Rex said nothing in response. Disrespectful? Maybe. But he couldn't bring himself to utter a single syllable. Not while knowing that this was all his fault-

"Rex, you know it isn't your fault."

Blasted Jedi, and there force whatever. Rex frowned, his posture slacking into something less formal than at attention, trying to convince himself that Skywalker was right. He couldn't.

"With all due respect sir. It is my fault. I froze in the middle of a battle because of a blasted hallucination. And if I hadn't she may not have been standing there at that time, and then she wouldn't have-"

"Ahsoka cares about you, Rex." Anakin turned to face his Captain now, cutting the trooper off mid sentence. "She cares about you like a brother, a mentor, and maybe even more. You may have froze, but you're not the reason she was standing there when the bomb hit," Anakin laid a hand on Rex's shoulders, a show of affection that wasn't often displayed between the two warriors.

"She knew the bomber was coming in for a run. I know, she knew. She CHOSE to save you," Skywalker said, "Because you are her _friend._ She cares about you, and she won't blame you" Rex's blood turned to ice, his mind trying to understood just what the General was trying to explain to him. Anakin sighed, turning back to his padawan.

"The Jedi Council had requested me for a debriefing," The jedi said, a slight edge to his voice. He clearly did not want to leave his padawan. "Will you watch over her?" Anakin asked. Rex's eyes widened. He was surprised at the General's request.

Surprised that even felt that he had to ask.

"Of course, sir," He responded. The two made eye contact, and Skywalker nodded in appreciation, placing a hand on the glass of the bacta tank.

"You're in good hands, Snips."

Then he was gone.

Rex face Ahsoka, brow set in determination. He _would_ watch over her. She was now _his_ ward.

Rex turned only a second to find a chair in which to set up his vigil. He would stay until she woke, and then he would make things right. He remembered again how he had slapped away her attempts at kindness before the failed mission, and as he sat there, the only sound being his breathing and the bubbles of the bacta tank, he vowed that it would never happen again.

* * *

A constant and hammering throb pulsating throughout her head was the first sensation she felt, a rhythmic drum of pain that came with every beat of her heart. The feeling of being awake slowly came to her.

Her eyes seemed glued shut, unwilling to ever be opened again. However she felt it necessary to get a hold of he surroundings. She tempted a first venture at sight, parting her eye lids for a split second before swiftly shutting them again in response to the harsh white light that greeted her. Bracing herself for another try she opened her eyes again, slowly this time, blinking in an attempt to rid her vision of blurriness. When finally her sight cleared she realized where she was, in one of the several recovery rooms aboard the _Resolute._ It was comforting to be home.

Her eyes through heavy lids turned down to look at herself. She observed that her entire torso, from chest to her waist, was wrapped in bandages. Her arm was in a similar state, wrapped in a thicker and harder cast from her wrist to her shoulder. More alarming, she noticed an overwhelming lack of feeling in her midsection, and less alarming; a slight shift in the depression of her mattress to her right as well as an even slighter pressure enveloping her unwrapped hand.

A hand, lightly gripping her own. Slowly her eyes followed the hand to a wrist, to an arm, to a shoulder, to short cut blonde dyed hair. The sleeping form of Rex, his back rising and falling with his silent breaths.

What happened? She racked her mind for answers, then all at once, they came rushing back to her, and her head started to pound even more with her accelerating heart rate.

* * *

A quiet, strained groan pulled Rex from his light sleep. He must have fell under the peaceful shadow of unconsciousness without even realizing it. Groggily he lifted lifted his head from it's place on the mattress. After removing his hand from the unnoticed position of holding hers he rubbed his eyes; And found himself staring into half lidded, yet open, crystal blue eyes.

"Commander," He quietly exclaimed. He glanced to the monitors just next to her berth, glancing over her vitals. All was ok, if a slightly increased heart rate. Turning his eyes back to the Togruta's, he could tell she was starting to panic.

She parted her lips, and in a raspy, struggling whisper she spoke.

"R...ex..."

He quickly reached for a small paper cup of water that was left on the window frame just behind him, and proceeded to slowly, tenderly, hold it to her mouth.

"Easy littl'un, don't talk just yet," He said quietly, as if speaking to her any louder would cause her to disappear. She complied and drank.

Having her meager taste of water, she then attempted to speak once more.

"W...what... happened?" She managed. Her voice was still barely above a whisper, but less raspy. He looked back into her part drugged, part exhausted, part pain filled eyes and took a deep breath. He was sure she already knew, but she probably wanted to hear it from somebody else.

"We... You were taking heavy heat from some MagnaGuards and Commando droids. A commando droid managed to hit you in your shoulder, then the MagnaGuard managed to get you on the ground, and was about to finish it. I... intervened," He said. Ahsoka nodded minutely, coaxing him to go on.

"After neutralizing the MagnaGuards, you... We..." He paused here, " _I_ froze. In the few moments of inactivity I failed to identify a hyena bomber coming in. I noticed too late, and just before the bombs made ground contact," He looked away into the inky black vacuum of space, "You threw me to safety, at the expense of you being caught directly in the blast. A large disc of shrapnel had lodged itself in your abdomen somewhere in between the lines. When I finally got to you... I feared it was too late. There was," Another pause, "So much blood." He concluded his tale of her heroics, and his shoulders sunk. Continuing, he gave her medical status.

"We were able to stabilize you until we got back aboard the _Resolute,_ then you spent roughly one half of a standard day in a bacta tank. It healed most of your sever burns and internal damage. They pulled you out ten hours ago. You still have some decent burns on your back, and the shrapnel wound has mostly closed up, but will require more time to fully heal. They have you wrapped up in more bacta and bandages now as you can see."

"Sir, it's my fault. Before the mission I had some sort of _hallucination,_ and it affected me more than I'd like to admit. It warped my judgement and I froze just as I was about to take down the droid that hit you," His eyes fell to the ground, "I... I lost my faith. Something inside of me, it saw you as the enemy... After Krell, I..." He leaned forward, laying his arms that he now no longer had the strength to hold up himself on her mattress.

"It was my fault. You're not the enemy. I know that...

I'm sorry."

His eyes shut in humiliation and his head hung low as he had to expose one of his freshest and deepest wounds in apology. It made him feel _weak_. He expected her to tell him to leave, to shun him in the light of the revelation that she was like this because of _him._

Something brushed against his hand, then grabbed it and wrapped itself around it. He opened his eyes and investigated the phenomenon.

Her hand had taken his once more, and he could only stare in mute disbelief. Her small, seemingly frail, and startlingly _smooth_ hand gave his rough and calloused one a reassuring, a _caring_ squeeze.

"Rex..." She whispered as best she could, "Its...n...not...your...fau...lt" Her last word felt short, melting into just another breath. Her pain meds were kicking in again with a fresh dose applied to her blood stream through one of the many hoses attached to her. Before slipping off into a quiet and healing sleep however, she managed a few more words.

"M'here... fo.. you.." and with that she slipped into the welcoming arms of slumber.

Rex's shame and anger and guilt all melted away with those three poorly vocalized words. Even as she lay there, severly injured, she was doing the same as she had before the mission.

 _"Rex, talk to me..."_

He smiled slightly, returning the squeeze her hand had still not released, even in sleep.

 _I'm here for you._

"And I, you. Ahsoka."

* * *

 _Annnnnd done with this mini story. Honestly I am a HUGE REXSOKA fan, but I didn't want to push that too hard in this chapter and rather focus and Rex learning to trust his Jedi again. I did my best. Tell me what you thought in the reviews, and I hope y'all eagerly await the next chapter. I'm thinking either an AU in which Anakin flips his tits after Ahsoka's trial when she is found GUILTY or a fic on Ahsoka going through a struggle of being a teenage girl whilst also being a jedi WHILST also fighting a war_ **WHILST** _dealing with a missing/kidnapped master. Or something. Anyway, let me know what you think. Until then, stay hungry stay foolish._


	4. Chapter 4

_Ok I know I sort of said what I would do in the last chapter but as it turns out I'm not doing either of those... Instead I'm gonna push some Rexsoka. Here 'tis._

* * *

Chapter 2: Ahsoka Pt. 1

...

It was a simple drug bust. One of those rare missions during the war that didn't involve charging headfirst into waves upon waves of battle droids.

Instead Ahsoka, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Captain Rex were assigned to the dismantling of a recently formed drug cartel. The cartel was known as the Sleemo Gang. Disregarding the horrid name, that is exactly what they were. A group of nasty karking sleemo's that had recently been linked to current increases in illegal narcotics, psychedelics, and other drugs entering the inner core. More specifically, Coruscant.

Now, on the planet of Hollast VII deep in Hutt Space, and after several long weeks of being undercover, they had finally located the center of it all. All of the mind tricks, the sneaking, and the lying through fake smiles and gritted teeth had lead them here.

To a miserable, Hutt controlled excuse of a planet, full of miserable scumbag drug runners.

On this miserable excuse of a planet, there was a castle. And in this castle there was to be a ball. A ball in which there would be fine dining, dancing, and most importantly; All of the leaders and financial supporters of the Sleemo Gang. A gathering of all the worst people the galaxy had to offer, people who wouldn't give a second thought to handing a child a lethal dosage of _whatever_ for a few credits.

How did they know this? Well, this particular information was provided by Obi-Wan himself. All of the most important people of the Sleemo gang would be there. There would be food from all types of planets, dancing girls, games. All manners of entertainment...

...Said Jedi was to be among the 'entertainment' for the scheduled banquet.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, renowned Jedi General, was captured. _Again._

"Old Man Kenobi is getting rusty," Anakin commented as a slight, smug smirk flashed across his face. Ahsoka recalled something about a bet between the two older Jedi on who would be captured first. Loser had to do... Something. She had quit paying attention at that point.

She rolled her eyes at her Master's words. Regarded the ever growing dustball before her through the _Twilight's_ front window.

"At least he didn't have to fake several deaths and cause an entire supply ship accident to get off planet and make it here," She muttered as the Twighlight came out of hyperspace.

"What was that, Snips?"

"Oh nothing."

They slowed to a crawl, drifting slowly towards the planet's surface. A red light started to flash, they were being hailed. Anakin groaned, reaching down next to his seat and lifting a grey helmet to place it atop his head. Ahsoka smirked as she remembered just _how_ her master had acquired that piece of his disguise; A rather comic scene of a few days ago, of a stripped and unconscious smuggler being shoved, with no small amount of difficulty, into a closet .

Clearing his throat, he answered the call. A Rodian's face appeared on the screen.

"Unidentified craft, turn back now or be destroyed" It threatened.

"This is Gar Nolax," Anakin spoke with the oddest mixture accents he could muster, "We are coming for the banquet, clearance code one-four-nine-six-nine."

Once again, Ahsoka found herself struggling to contain herself at the utterly _ridiculous_ acting of her master. And he claimed _she_ couldn't act.

The Rodian paused, regarding Anakin with suspicion. After a moment, he spoke.

"Clearance Code accepted, enjoy your stay."

The call ended, and Ahsoka gave Anakin a rather amused look.

"What?" He asked.

" _Gar Nolax_ , that's the best you could come up with?" She asked, making no efforts to hide the sisterly mocking tone of her voice. Anakin brushed it off with a roll of his eyes.

"You know, Snips, it's basically guaranteed that you'll be dancing with your _betrothed_ tonight. I can always get it on camera for every time you decide to make fun of my acting," Anakin responded. Ahsoka's face went from amused to horrified in half of a micro second.

She flopped back into her chair in defeat, painfully reminded that on this particular miserable excuse of a planet, at this particular castle, during this particular ball, there would be her greatest weakness amongst the 'entertainment'. _Dancing._ Not only that, but she was to be dancing with her impromptu betrothed. A very particular Clone Captain, who's name just so happened to be Captain Rex.

The door behind them hissed open.

'Speak of the Devil,' She thought. Turning to face him, she caught sight of his recently acquired dance attire. She almost blushed.

A black button up shirt, along with matching dress slacks and shoes. Over top of his shirt he wore a light grey blazer, buttoned once at his naval. Finally, true to the Five-oh-first tradition, a blue tie tucked neatly beneath his well fitting jacket. He looked every bit out of place in this outfit. It was the outfit of someone of a higher class. Not a soldier. Yet, as much as he seemed out of place... She couldn't help be feel that somehow, he looked... What was the correct word?

The clean, neat folds and perfect lines accentuated his solid from. He stood, perfect posture as always, and much cleaner than usual. Freshly shaven, hair squared away.

The best word she could come up with was handsome.

"Uh... Captain?"

 _Kriff_. She hadn't realized she was staring. She quickly cleared her throat and averted her eyes from his well dressed and _handsome_ looking outfit to meet his eyes.

"You look good, Rexter" She said, attempting to sound chipper and not at all awkward or _distracted._ Apparently she sounded a little too chipper... or maybe not enough. Because once the words left her mouth Anakin gave a small burst of laughter.

"Yeah, that wasn't at all strained and hard for you to say without blushing," He quipped.

Unfortunately Ahsoka couldn't prevent her Lekku stripes from darkening as she blushed in embarrassment.

"MASTER-" she was about to grind out a verbal lashing, until she was interrupted by Rex

"Thank you, Commander" He said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. She blinked twice then looked at him. Seeing the incoming awkward silence he quickly continued, "Ah, for the compliment, thank you. I don't really think this outfit suits me, too... fancy. It's not like my armor-" This time she interrupted

"Ahsoka," she stated. He looked at her quizzically.

"Commander?"

She rolled her eyes, now over her fit of embarrassment.

"If we are to be 'betrothed,' then my name is Ahsoka, not Commander. Remember?" She said, her voice picking up an edge of teasing.

It was Rex's turn to blush.

"Um... Right. Sorry, Ahsoka" He said, somewhat awkwardly.

It wasn't that he had never called her by her name before. Many times had she heard the gravelly accent of his voice call her name, although it was almost always under dire circumstances. Usually when she was needed immediately, or half a step away from death he give a shout; "Ahsoka!".

Perhaps the awkwardness came from the fact that neither of those two factors were present, and just _maybe_ the awkwardness stemmed from the amount of tenderness with which the name left his mouth. It was almost as if they actually were betrothed. She found this odd at first, but gave it no further thought. '

It's just him practicing acting' she thought, ignoring how her brain reminded her the special treatment she had been getting from him since the.. 'incident'. It had been two months since he had taken up the vigil of watching over her injured form after _that_ battle.

'Just acting'. Maybe... Maybe not.

Regardless, she found herself blushing once more. She didn't fail to notice the very peculiar smirk and eyebrow-raise combination that he master regarded them both with. The silence that followed Rex's utterance of her name seemed to drag on for a lightyear.

"Alright, Ahsoka go change" Anakin said after a spell. Oh yeah. She still had a disguise to try on. A disguise that _Anakin_ had said he would provide. She rolled her eyes, standing up and accepting the parcel of clothing that her master proceeded to hand to her.

"Knowing you, Master, you'll have me dressed in something more suited for a _dancing_ girl" She said, heading for the fresher. Anakin chuckled. They were getting closer to the surface now.

"Oh Snips, you and you're lack of faith."

...

Then a moment later, a voice from behind the closed fresher door.

"Oh Force, _where_ did you find this?"

* * *

A small while later and Ahsoka stepped out of the fresher, having taken the time to bathe before actually putting on the clothing she was given. Freshly cleaned she found herself feeling like a million credits, yet also feeling awkward and out of place as she faced her friends in something she thought was _clearly_ not right for her.

Quite frankly, something couldn't have suited her more.

It was similar in fashion to her normal wear. Open backed, no sleeves, an opening on her upper chest. This outfit however was black, and much longer and looser towards the legs. More like a dress. The bottom half fell down to her mid calves, cut at a downward angle from left to right. A pearl, polished to shimmer adorned her neck, connecting the dress above the gap on her chest. Her arms were bare, no longer adorned with her normal armbands. At her waist, a silver cord belt connecting at an equally silver pendant. To top it all off, heels. Getting her a few extra inches closer to the Captain's eye level.

She pulled her lips into a thin line and hugged herself with one arm. The boys were gawking.

"...How do I look?" She asked.

The stumbling, flustered response she received from Rex was more than slightly amusing. Anakin was more poised, less like a flustered teen.

"Woah, you look great, Snips!" He said offering a smile. Ahsoka beamed at him from the compliment.

"Thanks Skyguy, I knew you'd pick nice clothes" she stated, playing as if she hadn't expected to be dressed as a Hutt dancing girl.

"Ha, yeah right. You're lack of faith was unfounded my young padawan."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at his response before turning to Rex, who was still standing there, his posture seeming more rigid than it should have been.

"Again, Rex. _Betrothed._ "

He sighed and forced himself to look more relaxed. Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, he offered a small compliment.

"You look... wonderful."

She found herself pausing as she caught the hint of... something, in Rex's quietly offered _'wonderful'_. Passion? Lust? No those were too specific. There was definite, thick layer of _emotion_ hidden behind Rex's averted eyes and almost mumbled words. This struck her as odd. They three were all close. Close enough to where it was a kind of running gag amongst them to cause the others to be embarrassed or flusters. None of them were even above an occasional innuendo here and there. It was no odd thing for them to be left with a flushed face and stuttering for words.

But this was... different.

Even the earlier account of Rex saying her name with some slight 'awkwardness' as she had deemed it seemed, if a little odd, normal.

 _Wonderful._

There was much more depth she felt behind that one word. Why was this one compliment so heavily laced with emotion? What was going on here?

And why did it leave her with butterflies in her stomach?

Unfortunately she didn't have the time to ponder the mysteries of her partner's words.

"Alright we're coming in for final landing, let's go over the plan once more," Anakin said. Rex stepped forward.

"Commander-... Ahsoka and I are to infiltrate the ball and remain undetected, keeping track of HVT's until you give the signal," The clone said. Anakin nodded.

"Right, and in the meantime I will be looking for our bearded friend. He could probably a good cup of tea right about now," Anakin added, "Don't act until I give the signal." They were now almost to the landing platform. Anakin, already dressed in his new outfit, placed his disguise helmet on his head before reaching for his pocket.

"Oh, and you two might need these," He said as he tossed each of them a small, square box. Ahsoka caught hers easily, eyeing it curiously before opening it.

A ring. Rex had a matching one.

Rex and Ahsoka looked at each other, then she shot a glare at Anakin, who in turn just started laughing, which in turn fueled her glare.

Through the laughter he said, "Oh this is gonna be great"

* * *

 _Alright I don't know how well this will be received. I'm unsure how well I'm portraying the characters and their relationships, but I think it follows ok with the Anakin/Rex are brothers in arms, Anakin is the big brother, Ahsoka is the litter sister and then the Rexsoka. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading._


End file.
